Friday, April 23, 2010

A is for ...

I’m sure most of you know that I am an Atheist. I came to this after being brought up Catholic and then moving onto Zen and Taoism. Suddenly all religions and philosophies became implausible to me so I claimed there was nothing out there and I never looked back.

It’s funny how religious symbols bother me. Being Catholic I had the whole array of religious objects; candles, crosses and crucifixes, rosary beads, all that crap. When I was into Zen and Taoism I collected books. I have more Alan Watts books than the Library of Congress. I can no longer open them.

As a residual from my religion poisoning I get sickened when I see a Jesus Fish. I won’t call a business that has a fish on their card or in their advertisement. I’m even sick of the Darwin fish.

One would think that Atheists wouldn’t get wrapped up in that sort of thing, but lately I’m noticing that Atheists are placing a stylish letter “A” next to their photos or copy. It’s starting to annoy me as much as the Jesus Fish. You "A" Atheists are turning Atheism into a religion. Knock it off you rat bastards. A is for Asshole!

18 Comments:

I always tell people I am a dyslexic agnostic. I don't believe in dog. But my dog believes in me so it created a schism that we both have decided to ignore. The ULC ordained me as a minister and gave me an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. The Discordians made me a Pope and the 24 hour Church of Elvis made me a Saint. I am a member in good standing of the International Brotherhood of Old Bastards and a treasurer in the John Dillinger Died For You society with full permission to keep any money I gather because John would have wanted it that way.

Darev, your entire reply could have been a blog post for you. Thanks for wasting it here. Very funny.

Yeah Mark, I'm one of those scary loners. The three things that create all the evil in the world are organized religions, political parties and sports teams.

Shelly, I just haven't found any proof to counter my statement. Yes, there are people that believe and good for them, though many of their beliefs are fiction based. Having hope isn't always a good thing, but if that's all you;ve got, good luck with it. Life is a disease with a very bad prognosis, it lingers for years and inevitably ends in death and decay. I don't see any hope there at all so I'll have fun while I can.

Some athiest groups are worse than the most religious...I'm an athiest as well, and although I'm not offended so much by religion itself, I don't like the way these groups are so hell bent on getting rid of all religion.

To each their own, I say. Just because I don't believe there is a god, doesn't give me the right to expect others to feel the same. I'm like you in that I would need proof of a supreme being before I devote my life to it/him/whatever.

My religious relatives say "just look around you"...and I say "So?"

I don't believe in "nothing"...I just don't believe that anything or anyone is guiding me through life. And I don't pray when I'm in a bind, why would I? If I'm in a bind for some reason, I probably got myself that way, so just work harder to get myself out LOL.

Some of my closest relatives and friends are quite devout. Heck, sis is VERY involved in her church, and that doesn't bother me a bit. Over the years, we've learned that religion is just something we don't talk about.

Well, Mr. Guy, I think we're on different religious arcs. I went from questions to Catholicism. I went from seriously Reformed to reconciled. I used to try to explain the world from the top down, and now I have all those beautiful, wonderful objects (candles, rosaries, and water) to explain the world from simple to more complex.

I think that's why I fell in love with Catholicism in the first place: mystery. As a Protestant, I needed answers, explanations, reasons, and purpose. The Bible had things either right or wrong. But now... now if I don't understand it and nobody can explain it to me, it's probably a Sacred Mystery. The Catholic Church allows for doubt, wonder, imagination, and not having all the answers.

What is God? some would say "love." some would say "divine." I don't really have an answer. Does God exist? Until I die, I won't know for sure, and that's fine with me. I'd rather live my life believing He does and try to follow Christ the best I can. If God doesn't exist, then at least people can say I lived a good life, a kind and fulfilling life.

You don't have to believe in God to live a good life, and I'm not trying to convert anyone. Just offering my two cents.

Jaggy, coming to Catholicism as an adult and after Vatican II you missed all the brutality and the guilt. The real mystery of the church when I was a kid was that everything was in Latin and no one understood a word of what was going on. We knew there was such a thing as a bible (always referred to as the scriptures), but we never saw one. There was always one on the alter, but no one ever touched it.

The catholic church is more of a social club these days. If you want mystery you should join a Masonic order. I hear they still keep the mystic thing alive.

You mean they've really gotten serious about religion? I totally lost interest they started all that funky shaky the hand or embraces the person next to you stuff. I went to catholic school from K-8 and then I worked at a seminary for ten years. I know funky when I see it.

I admit I've been remiss at attending (Catholic) church lately. I miss the messages and miss the people more. There is certainly a social aspect to the church but for me, that is only part of it. It is one of the best parts to go to church sponsored functions though.

The people I hang with at church are very serious about religion. They are people with big hearts and dedicate a lot of their time to helping others, etc.